


Lead The Way, Pretty Boy

by LonelyThursday



Series: Pickpocket AU [3]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Thieves, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Modern Era, Pickpockets, Race is a good boyfriend, Suggestive language, Trans Albert DaSilva, Trans Character, offscreen transphobia, pickpocketing au, race pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:07:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21610633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyThursday/pseuds/LonelyThursday
Summary: Sequel to How To Kiss A Boy and Beat Him To The Punch, you should at least read HTKAB firstRace and Albert go on a date, but since they're them, it can't just be a normal dateFeat. hurt!Albert and good boyfriend!Raceexcessive swearing and suggestive language (but nothing graphic)
Relationships: Albert DaSilva/Racetrack Higgins
Series: Pickpocket AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1544755
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	Lead The Way, Pretty Boy

**Author's Note:**

> As a cis-woman I'm very self-conscious about whether or not I write trans characters respectfully, so if I ever write something in a way that isn't cool, just lemme know

Hey guys, it’s me again, Race. If you’ll recall, the last time we talked I was handcuffed to my own bed by a _really_ cute boy who left me there without uncuffing me. 

Right, well, after he left, I must have fallen asleep while waiting for my roommate’s to get home, because the next thing I knew, it was morning and I was still cuffed to the bed! Luckily, when I yelled for my roommates, Crutchie came to my aid! Unfortunately, he’d also seen the cute boy’s phone number, which had fallen off my chest in my sleep and was lying on the floor when he came in (the cute boy’s name is Albert by the way). And while Crutchie _did_ pick the locks on the cuffs, he also teased me mercilessly for falling for a mark. 

Also unfortunately, Finch had come into my room in the middle of the night to see if I wanted pizza and had seen me tied up, and because he’s a _jerk,_ he hadn’t helped me. What he _had_ done was take pictures of me to use as blackmail in the future. Like I said, a jerk. 

Anyway, after Crutchie released me, I called Albert. Based on the roughness of his voice, I’m pretty sure I woke him up. Which is good. It’s what he deserved. So I called him, right, cuz he’s hot and as annoyed as I was that he’d gotten the better of me, that didn’t make him any less hot. 

And that’s how I find myself at the same club a week later. 

I’m standing at the bar when I feel someone reach into my back pocket. In one fluid motion I turn around and grab the offender’s wrist. 

It’s Albert (go figure). He’s got my wallet in his hand, but I’ve got his wrist in mine, so who’s the real winner here?

“You’re going to have to try harder than that,” I tell him, taking my wallet back. 

“Maybe,” Albert concedes with a smug grin that I _do not_ trust _at all._ “Or maybe you need to keep better track of your stuff.”

He holds up a cell phone.

Great, so he’s got a phone, whatever. But the bastard taps the screen to wake it anD IT'S MY DAMN PHONE. 

“Gimme that!” I snag the phone from back from him, he gives it willingly, smirking the entire time. 

“Guess you’re not a very good pickpocket,” he teases, stuffing his hands into his pockets. The moment his hands are in his pockets his face falls and he pulls his hands out again.

They’re covered with glitter.

“What the fuck?”

“Being a good pickpocket isn’t just about taking things out, unnoticed,” I smirk. “You’ve gotta be able to put things in unnoticed too.”

“Color me impressed, Pretty Boy.” Albert sticks his hand back in his pocket, pulls out a handful of glitter, and pours it on my head. 

“Hey!”

“There! Now you’re even prettier.” Albert smirks, and I can’t really be mad about it, I _did_ just hand it to him. 

That doesn’t stop me from leaning over him and shaking the excess the glitter onto him. “There, now you’re prettier too!”

“Aww, we’re twinning!” Albert smiles and _aslfkbdj_ I’m so gay… don’t tell him that, it wouldn’t do his fat head any favors. 

“Aww couple goals!” I agree. Usually first dates are awkward, but I suppose he _has_ already seen me in my underwear so…. 

“So obviously having a normal date would be boring after our last one-“

“That wasn’t a date.”

“You thought we were gonna have sex, I’d call it a date.” I sputter and Albert smirks. Bastard. “Anyway, since a normal date would be boring, I propose a bet.”

And I can’t help but perk up at that. “I’m always a slut for a bet.”

“Oh? What else are you a slut for?” Albert smirks. 

“Guess you’ll just have to figure that out for yourself.” I reply with a wink. 

“Can’t wait, but back to the bet,” Albert says, taking a long sip from his drink that I don’t even remember him getting. “If you win, I’ll let you tie me up.”

“At your place?” I ask, fair is fair. Not that I’d start snooping through his stuff, but I think I deserve to at least have the opportunity to do so if I wanted to. 

“If it makes you feel better,” he concedes. “But if _I_ win, _I_ get to tie _you_ up.”

“At your place?” Fool me once, after all. 

Albert laughs. 

“If it makes you feel better.” He answers again. “But I wasn’t planning on leaving you there again. Not looking as good as you do, especially with all your pretty sparkles.”

“My roommates already have enough blackmail material on me,” I tell him. “I’m not going to risk letting them get more.”

“That’s more than fair,” Albert laughs, and maybe I shouldn’t let myself fall so easily after what he did last week, but _damn_ his laugh sounds good; like he doesn’t have a care in the world, and has nothing better to do than talk to me. 

Get it together Higgins, you can’t let your guard down yet. Not on the first date. Not after last time. 

“Now for the parameters,” Albert scans the room quickly, possibly deciding what the bet should be, possibly picking out a mark for something, I’m not sure which. “Whoever gets the most phone numbers by the end of the night wins.”

I consider that for a moment. Flirting _is_ my usual MO, but I don’t usually go for people’s _phone numbers_. Which brings up an interesting question. “Are we stealing too, or just the numbers?”

“Just numbers,” Albert answers. “If _you’re_ stealing from people then I doubt you’d be able to stay here long.”

And yeah, that’s fair. I usually have to bail on a place after one or two hits to avoid confrontation. 

“Does gender matter?” I ask. Albert shakes his head. 

“Just anyone you can get a number off of.”

“Any rules about getting free drinks?” I'm very good at getting free drinks, and I’d love to get extra points for that. 

“Doesn’t count,” Albert smirks, probably thinking about how I’d tricked Spot. 

“What’s the time limit?” I ask. 

“Last call. When the bar closes we head back to my place, count the numbers in the Uber, and, if we’re still up for it tonight, loser gets tied up.”

“Sounds like a plan, prepare to lose.”

“I never lose,” Albert smirks, spitting into his hand and offering it to me, I take it. I can’t wait to wipe that stupid smirk off his dumb, pretty face. 

Over the course of the next hour I manage to rack up ten phone numbers (and two free drinks, but we’re not counting those), but before I’m able to get number eleven, my phone buzzes. I check it, ignoring the indignant look on the face of the guy I’m chatting up, he’s a real douchebag and he needs to be taken down a peg. 

**Dickface:** I’m leaving

 **Dickface:** You can come if you want but I can’t stay here

 **Me:** Where r u?

 **Dickface:** I’m outside

 **Me:** I’ll be right there

I stuff my phone back in my pocket before turning back to this smarmy dick. 

“Sorry about that,” I say, putting on my best innocent face, but the guy still looks ticked off. “Lemme make it up to you.”

I lean forward like I’m going to kiss him, and he leans in too, but by now I’m sure you know the drill. As soon as he closes his eyes I snatch the wallet and run. I hope he has _lots_ of pretty cards in here, I'd _love_ to ruin his credit score. 

Finding Albert outside is pretty easy, he’s standing just a few feet away from the door. I bound up to him, ready to tell him about the asswipe that I’d just stolen from, but the look on his face stops me in my tracks. He’s upset. 

“Al?” I ask cautiously, he just sorta grunts in acknowledgement before turning on his heels and walking away. 

I follow him of course, he told me he was leaving and waited for me to join him so I assume he wants me to follow. He walks quickly, head down, turning at seemingly random intersections. I follow about two steps behind him, close enough that he knows I’m there, but not so close that he feels like I’m crowding him. We walk for nearly half an hour before I can’t stand the silence anymore. 

“Are you mad at me?” I can’t help but blurt out. I don’t think I did anything, but I’m not sure what else it could be. 

Albert stops in his tracks so suddenly that I almost bump into him. He stands there for a second, head down, shoulders up, looking extremely uncomfortable, before releasing the tension in his shoulders. His whole body seems to sag, and he lets out a wet chuckle. 

“No, Race,” he answers, head still down. “I’m not mad at you. You didn’t do anything.”

“Then what’s wrong?” I ask, reaching for his hands. I don’t think he would have let me hold them earlier, but he does now. 

“It’s just… I-“ 

He lets out a frustrated growl, but I can wait for him to find the words. We have all night, after all. 

“You know I’m trans, right?” He finally asks. 

I nod. “I kinda figured after the plumbing joke.”

Albert nods, still not raising his head. “And you’re… okay with that?”

I think I’m starting to understand where he’s going with this, and I don’t like it. 

“Who do I have to kill?” I ask. “I’ll do it! I mean it!”

Albert chuckles wetly, and pulls one of his hands out of mine to wipe at his eyes, making me realize that he’s been crying. 

“You don’t have to kill anyone, Race. I get shit like this a lot, I just let it roll right off my back… mostly.”

And _god_ that breaks my heart. He doesn't deserve to be treated like less than by some _asshole_ in a club. No one does, and it only fuels my desire to hunt this jackass down and kill him for hurting Albert like that. But first… 

Albert lets out a small whimper when I pull him against my chest, but he makes no move to pull out of the hug, but he doesn’t hug back either. Well, I’m not planning on letting him go anytime soon, so I guess he’ll just have to deal. 

“How are you okay with me?” Albert asks so quietly I can barely hear him. “I’m not a proper man.”

“Now you listen to me Albo,” I say, not loosening my hug at all. I will smother him with my affection if I have to, but I _will_ drive my point home. “You are so _kind,_ and _smart,_ and I am very, _very_ gay, and I think that you’re _incredibly_ hot, so that dick at the club must need his eyes checked if he doesn’t think that you’re every bit of a man as I am, and _twice_ the man he is.”

“That’s a rather roundabout way of complimenting yourself,” Albert comments in an attempt at humor. I scoff with the appropriate amount of mock-indignacation (indignacation? Is that a word? Whatever. Now’s not the time).

“Are you saying I’m _not_ twice the man he is? Because I’ll have you know that I am _charming,_ I am _intelligent,_ I am _attractive_ , I am _magical_ in bed-“

“That better not mean you do card tricks during sex,” Albert interrupts with a huff, but he’s smiling. I can tell. 

“It might,” I chuckle. I’ve never done card tricks, but sleight of hand _is_ kinda my thing, how hard can it be?

Albert chuckles into my chest and I’ll count that as a win. 

“Now, I stole some pompous douchebag’s wallet back at the club, whaddaya say we get some ice cream?” I pull the wallet out of my pocket and wave it around enticingly. “His treat.”

Albert pulls out of the hug, and I let him. He’s smiling, so I think I did good. 

“Yeah, I’ve cream sounds great.”

“Great! I know an awesome place just a few blocks away, open all night!” I hold my hand out for Albert to take, and a warm feeling fills my chest when he takes it without hesitation. 

“Lead the way, Pretty Boy.” He’s grinning, and I am too. 

What a pair we make, two pickpockets, holding hands in the middle of the street, about to use some rando’s wallet to buy ice cream at one a.m. 

“Follow me, Dickface.”

**Author's Note:**

> Whoo! Third fic of the day


End file.
